Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari, who laid foundation stones of two road projects involving an investment of about Rs 1,800 crore at Saha in Ambala district, announced that road projects costing `25,000 crore would be initiated in the state by the year-end.

Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari, who laid foundation stones of two road projects involving an investment of about Rs 1,800 crore at Saha in Ambala district, announced that road projects costing `25,000 crore would be initiated in the state by the year-end.

Gadkari sanctioned eight new national highways that would pass through Haryana and added that ring roads would be constructed for Panchkula-Chandigarh and Mohali, Ambala city Ambala Cantt and Karnal. Besides, he also announced a 3-km long elevated highway at Badshahpur in Gurgaon.

Gadkari, who was accompanied by Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, members of Parliament, ministers and legislators, laid foundation stones of four-laning projects of Yamunanagar-Saha-Barwala section of national highway-73 and Ambala-Kaithal portion of NH-65.

Speaking on the occasion, Gadkari also announced construction of a new expressway connecting Haryana, Punjab as well as Jammu and Kashmir.

The eight new national highways announced by him were Bhiwani-Mundhal-Jind-Meerut, Hisar-Adampur-Mansa-Bathinda, Jind-Safidon-Panipat, Titram Mod Kaithal-Hisar-Rajgarh (Rajasthan Border), Pehowa-Kurukshetra-Yamunanagar, Khangesra-Kala Amb, Yamunanagar-Paonta Sahib and Ambala-Saha-Shahbad.

Gadkari said that during the tenure of the previous UPA government, only a length of 2-km of national highways used to be constructed per day, but under the NDA regime now, this had increased to 14 km per day. He said that in the next five years, national highway works costing `5 lakh crore would be undertaken and it would generate employment opportunities for 50 lakh youth.

While taking a dig at the 'Garibi Hatao' slogan of the Congress, he said that Congress leaders -- from Pt Jawaharlal Nehru to Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi - had used this slogan and now Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was raising the same slogan. The Congress ruled the country for 65 years, but the poverty of the people had not been alleviated though the lot of the 'slogan raisers' improved.He also lauded Khattar's policy of zero-tolerance to corruption.

Khattar, in his address, said that during the past nine months, he had made efforts to provide transparent and corruption-free administration and he was satisfied to a great extent.

He said that during the 10-year rule of the Congress, Haryana had got only one national highway, whereas during the BJP's rule for less than a year, the state had got 10 new national highways.

He said that development of all districts, cities and towns would be at par with that of Gurgaon, Faridabad and Sonepat.